Diatoms in oil and gas exploration
diatoms are used in age dating and correlation of sedimentary rocks,
which are important in hydrocarbon exploration. Diatoms are used for biostratigraphy
of cold water sediments were calcareous microfossils are not abundant,
or have long geologic ranges
Diatoms in Lake water Acidity
Acid rain and its impact on lake acidity and fish populations is an
area of environmental concern. Diatoms are used in this are as pH indicators.
There is a relationship between diatom distribution and pH. Different species
of diatoms have different preferences as to the pH of the water that they
live in. The pH of water can be deduced from the optimum distribution of
a certain species of diatoms, certain species can be categorized into groups
depending on wether they experience their optimum distribution at pH values
higher, lower, or equal to 7.
